Showing posts with label James 5. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James 5. Show all posts

Friday, March 18, 2011

Being Human



All of us who have God’s Spirit born within are designed to pray (I Thessalonians 5:17). It is in our spiritual nature. Along with that, it is in our human nature to hold onto the burdens we should be lifting to the Lord. Being that intercession is a chief part of how I minister and being that I am human, I fall into that category—BIG TIME!

I have a tendency to wear stress like a jacket—not a light spring jacket, but a heavy leaded vest. Lately, the grief of what is happening to people in the world at large and in my own microcosmic world has nearly overwhelmed me. I am realizing that it is truly only by God’s grace that I carry on.

It is driving me to go deeper. I want to see and be a part of what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is doing in these last days. I want to be a laborer for the Great Harvest—Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. - Luke 10:2 KJV

First comes the plowman and the seed before a harvest. I am like the plowman who is praying for the rain to bring forth the fruit.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. - James 5:7 KJV

I wept as I read James 5 this morning and cried out for Him to send the latter rain of His glorious presence upon the earth. And then my spiritual eyes caused me to ‘see’ something—something amazing about being human.

Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias [Elijah] was a man [anthropos—human being] subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. - James 5:16 and 17 KJV

What is amazing is that although we are jars of clay, we have the gift of a spirit that may be regenerated by the power of the Most High. And with that He gives us the ability to manifest that power!

And he [Elijah] prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. - James 5:18 KJV

Elijah was a human being just like you and me, yet look what happened when all he did was PRAY! So let us PRAY! Being human like Elijah, let us cry out for the spiritual latter day rain.


Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. - Amos 9:13 KJV

This is my deepest desire—to see and be a part of the greatest move of God on the face of the planet!

Are you praying to see this also?

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Happiness Is?


While cleaning up some email files, I came across something I had written to my sister about five years ago after going through a great spiritual battle for our church. The experience left me despondent:


Kim,

A couple of months ago I did a word study on that word
'happy' or 'happiness' after crying out to the Lord. I
asked Him if it was wrong for me to want a little bit
of happiness in my life. Then I thought I better see
how the scriptures define 'happiness'. It didn't turn
out the way I had hoped.


According to scripture, happiness occurs when:

*you find and retain wisdom (Proverbs 3:13, 18)
*the Lord is your Savior (Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 144:15)
*God corrects you (Job 5:17)
*you have a quiver full of children (Psalm 127:4& 5)
*you fear the Lord (Isaiah 128: 1 & 2)
*you have mercy on the poor (Proverbs 14:21)
*you trust in the Lord (Proverbs 16:20)
*you don't condemn yourself (Romans 14:22; 8:1)
*you suffer for righteousness' sake (I Peter 3:14)
*you are reproached for the name of Christ (I Peter 4:14)
*you endure (James 5:11)

Selah, Lyn

Here again the Lord had to teach me that He alone was my sufficiency and that my idea of happiness was skewed. I’m sure Jesus our Yahshua was not ‘happy’ as He was tortured and dying, yet the joy that awaited Him allowed Him to endure (Hebrews 12:2).

As I am writing this, I realize HE is the fulfillment of my happiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith, our all in all. HE IS OUR HAPPINESS. It gives a whole new meaning to…

HAPPY New Year~


Lyn

P.S. Have you noticed that my blog is enabled with the Blue Letter Bible’s Script Tagger? You simply hover over a scripture reference, and a window pops up with the verse. Nice feature, eh?